Region

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PHILADELPHIA >> When the Philadelphia Flower Show opens March 5, visitors will be dazzled not only by acres of outstanding landscapes, but by a number of fine art displays featuring beautiful and fascinating plants.

After a remarkable 40 years with the Philadelphia Flower Show, family owned Kremp Florist is not only one of the longest running vendors at the nine-day event — it’s one of the only vendors that actually sells cut flowers.

It’s no secret that painstaking time and effort goes into making sure the submissions at the Philadelphia Flower Show are among the most beautiful and elaborate in the world. That’s why for people like Tim Farrell, judging each one takes a team of people with years of experience and an eye for perfection.

There is always more to the Philadelphia Flower Show than flowers — as if the beautiful landscapes and displays are not sufficient — and this year’s March 5 to 13 show adds some new special events to the array of extras.

NORRISTOWN >> Sure, you’ll still come mainly for the world-class animals, but neither the cuddly red pandas nor the engaging giraffes will mind if you find the Jus’ Java coffee creations and the expanded variety of zoo grub compelling attractions in their own right.

Delaware County Council Chairman Mario Civera is serving on the planning committee for the World Meeting of Families — Philadelphia 2015, as the establishment of a comprehensive committee structure was announced Tuesday to prepare for the historic visit of Pope Francis in September.

Winter dumped sleet and ice on the region and followed it up with well over half a foot of snow this week, but that didn’t keep patrons from enjoying the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City.

Despite dire prospects for the upcoming Phillies season and sub-zero wind chills, Tom O’Neill never considered passing on his winter pilgrimage to Citizens Bank Park for the first day of individual game ticket sales.

WEST CHESTER >> Chester County Democrats reacted with delighted anticipation to the news Thursday that the Democratic National Committee had selected neighboring Philadelphia as the site of the party’s 2016 convention, at which a presidential nominee will be chosen.

NORRISTOWN >> With the Democratic National Committee’s Thursday morning announcement that Philadelphia will host the Democratic National Convention in 2016, local lawmakers hailed the move as both a political and economic boon to the region.

Area state lawmakers agree that a natural gas extraction tax is a needed economic initiative that would take Pennsylvania off the map as the only state without the severance tax. However, opinions on the details behind the tax proposal vary.

NORRISTOWN >> In an effort to keep the public abreast of the Norristown Area School District’s potential move to the Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC) from the Suburban One League (SOL), representatives from the PAC attended Tuesday night’s work session for a question and answer with the school board.

PHILADELPHIA >> Two people were indicted on federal charges this week in connection to a string of bank robberies late last year in Chester and Montgomery counties, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

BRIDGEPORT >> Corruption charges were filed against two PennDOT administrators and eight former inspectors accused of bilking Pennsylvania taxpayers out of more than $1 million by defrauding the department’s Highway Occupancy Program), which oversees permits and inspections for roadwork on the commonwealth’s interstates, U.

PENNSBURG >> Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman has identified the man who allegedly went on a shooting spree this morning as Bradley William Stone and announced that the death toll has risen to six.

PERKIOMEN >> Members of the Basic Education Funding Commission met with local school superintendents Thursday at Perkiomen Valley High School to hear their issues regarding the school education formula.

NORRISTOWN — Senior Philadelphia Judge John Braxton has been appointed to preside over the attorney general’s case against the former head of the Montgomery County Republican Party, according to online court documents.

NORRISTOWN — With their clean-cut, fresh-scrubbed appearances, conservative haircuts and attire that included blue blazers, ties and fashionable skirts, members of the so-called “Main Line Take Over Project” stood out in the court of law where they answered to charges they were part of a pot peddling ring.

Brian Mahoney, 24, of Collegeville, has had to bounce around from job to job while his bachelor’s degree collects dust. It’s the only thing he can do to get his life going while he lives at home with his parents and tries to get a handle on his out-of-control student loans.

NORRISTOWN — A Philadelphia man who tampered with utility meters to reduce some account holders’ monthly PECO electrical bills, to the tune of nearly $350,000, has generated some court supervision in connection with the five-county theft scheme.

NORRISTOWN — A jury of six men and six women deliberated until 9:30 p.m. Friday before finding that Max Stine committed first-degree murder when he opened fire with an AK-47 in Haws Alley in Norristown on July 11, 2011.

WEST CHESTER — Forty-four people were arrested and 12 more are wanted on outstanding warrants in what Chester County authorities dubbed “Operation Telaraña” — a year-long, multi-agency probe targeting a major cocaine trafficking network with ties to a dangerous Mexican drug cartel.

NORRISTOWN — The Montgomery County detective who was a defendant in a lawsuit brought by a Radnor contractor who was wrongfully accused of stealing from a Jenkintown church is no longer working for the district attorney’s office.

PHILADELPHIA — A Radnor contractor who received a $1.6 million civil settlement and an apology from Montgomery County prosecutors for wrongfully accusing him of stealing from a Jenkintown church said the last several years have been “a long and difficult struggle” to clear his name.